The subject matter described herein relates to a furniture cabinet for a breast pump.
A breast pump is a mechanical device that extracts milk from the breasts of a lactating woman. Breast pumps may be manual devices powered by hand or foot movements or electrical devices powered by electricity or batteries. There are several types of pump mechanisms. Piston pumps draw a piston through a cylinder to create suction. Piston pumps have characteristics of low speed, high reliability, low noise, and long life. Rotary vane pumps use a cam with retractable vanes to create suction. Fast diaphragm pumps use a diaphragm that is acted on by a lever, with thousands of cycles per minute. They operate at higher speed and are usually noisier. Slow diaphragm pumps use a large diaphragm operated by a can or lever to generate suction with each stroke. Pumps have also been designed that use Venturi effects powered by a faucet or water stream, wall suction in hospitals, or pumps powered by oral suctioning.
The most common pumps are electric hospital grade breast pumps and electric personal use pumps. Hospital grade pumps are larger and intended for multiple users. Personal use pumps are smaller and generally intended for one user. Electric breast pumps are powered by a motor which supplies suction through plastic tubing to a horn that fits over a mother's nipple. This style provides a lot more suction, making pumping significantly faster, and allows pumping of both breasts at the same time. Electric breast pumps are ideal for when a mother will be pumping daily. Electric breast pumps are larger than manual ones, but portable models are available (e.g. in a backpack or shoulder bag) that allow the mother to transport the pump. Some manufacturers have battery packs or built in batteries to allow portable operation of the pumps.
Most breast pumps allow direct collection of pumped breast milk into a container that can be used for storage and feeding. The expressed breast milk may be stored and later fed to a baby by bottle. Expressed milk may be kept at room temperature for up to six hours (at 66-72 degrees Fahrenheit), refrigerated for up to 8 days (at 36-44 degrees Fahrenheit), or frozen for 12 months in a freezer maintained at a temperature of −4 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit.